>> ^Gunter:
Even if we didn't have a Military, I don't think people would realize how many citizens would take up arms if America was invaded. Even immigrants in my opinion the illegal and legal ones would take up arms if their lively hood was threatened by an invasionary force. we would be fighting just like the people who fight in iraq are fighting. Don't underestimate the general population. We won the Revolutionary war by guerilla tactics. That is why i can't understand why our military is so unused to fighting that style of war. Our Country was founded on those tactics.


There fixed that for you.

Even if we didn't have a Military, I don't think people would realize how many citizens would take up arms if America was invaded. Even immigrants in my opinion the illegal and legal ones would take up arms if their lively hood was threatened by an invasionary force. we would be fighting just like the people who fight in iraq are fighting. Don't underestimate the general population. We won the civil war by guerilla tactics. That is why i can't understand why our military is so unused to fighting that style of war. Our Country was founded on those tactics.

“I think the most basic reason why the Americans should worry about Atomic Ayatollah’s is that they keep chanting ‘death to Omrika’ for more than 25 years” ... and haven’t attacked the US or any other western country in all those year, shows what exactly?

But of course, a proud and powerful people, living within the same borders for centuries, unaffected by western occupation and “protectoration” -- making it an older country than the US -- that would use insurgents and guerillas instead of contractors and, most of all, wouldn’t take a war waged on them lying down; well, seriously that is ridiculous and totally unacceptable.

Btw, anybody who’s ever seen one of those demo’s (I didn’t even know they still have one in Tehran every Friday, but the one I encountered in Masshad to celebrate Revolution Day must have been quite similar) knows they’re pretty lame.

Danger Mouse - produces and performs with Gnarls Barkley and ...The Gorillaz! (Gorillaz In The Mist?) Sorry to confound, I appreciate the opportunity to clarify...again...

In reply to this comment by dystopianfuturetoday:
Wha?

In reply to this comment by critttter:
So where's Danger Mouse?

Wha?

In reply to this comment by critttter:
So where's Danger Mouse?

oh, come on - 200 yards and he missed the whole target? it's not the gun, buddy - you suck! In my experience AK-47 can be as accurate as any other gun, whether it's 7.62mm caliber or standard NATO 5.56mm.
I usualy got great groupings on targets up to 300m range (say in a 20cm circle) and my rifle was pretty much fucked up (old Yugoslavian army stock that they left lying around after the war). If you know your gun well, you can't possibly miss the whole target even at twice that range - that's single shot action of course, not automatic (AK's accuracy goes waaay down in automatic mode, like in the standard bullshit you see in any guerilla war footage on TV, a guy loosely stretching out his gun, some assholes even one handed, and bursting the whole clip...). Short controlled bursts of 3-4 shots is still useful in most combat situations (that usualy happen inside 300 yards range) if you know what you're doing (not like the guy in the video).
And as for durability and reliability - you can't compare it to any other gun in the world. The things i've done with my AK... M16 would probably rust in a week. Not to mention what a bitch it is to put it back together once you open it up - I haven't fired any guns since the army, but if you give me an AK now, I can disassemble it and put it back together in under 30 seconds (blindfolded if you like) That shit can save your life in combat. I never held M16 but i tested the Singapore replica of M16 called SAR-80. It almost identical. I didn't like it much. Plus we got just a couple of those SAR-80s just after the war (while still under arms embargo) and SAR-80 has aluminum clips casings meant for one-time use only. But since our army didn't have enough equipment at the time, we used same clips daily. Of course they got bent with use so when we were out in the field our clips would start falling out imagine something like that happening to you in a war zone

Weapons should be graded on their effectiveness on the battlefield, not some pre set standardized tests. Looking at both the AK-47 and M-16 on a firing range, one could claim the M-16 is better but its far more reliable to cull from several conflicts where both weapons were used, to reach a conclusion, the most significant would be Vietnam.

As a precison, futuristic, tech reliant rifle the M-16 almost failed in Vietnam, early versions shipped with ammunition that fired dirty in the chamber leading to catastrophic dirt jams, initially they were shipped with no cleaning kits as well, its sensitive mecahnism could easily jam in harsh enviroments, early models also weighted so little that firing control and usage as a close combat blunt weapon was lost.

The AK-47 thrived, its firing power, reliablity, simple training methodology meant that troops spent little time training and cleaning with their weapons and more time shooting at an enemy. In close range a butt smack from an AK-47 can down a person. There is an entire handbook on just how to disassemble the M-16, you can teach a 6 year old how to clean, arm and fire the AK-47 in about 30 minutes.

The AK-47 is built for urban combat and close range engagement, while the M-16 is built as a long range high accuracy stand off weapon. You can run a guerilla war on the AK-47, while the M-16 is reliant on highly trained troops with the weapon system and supplies to keep the weapon functioning. There are still reports on newer M-16A2s failing to fire or jamming in the sandy dunes of Iraq.

The US Army Ordance is really skwed in my preception, there is high concentration on high tech bullshit (robots? network centric warfare?) while still using a weapon design from the late 50s, the M-16A2 and M4 are simple modifications on the M-16 frame, both are standard US infantry weapons and haven't really progressed to a more simpler and more reliable weapon platforms even though alternatives are field tested every goddamn year. The AK on the other hand is progressinng as a weapon design, currently I believe its ireation is the AK-74.

Basically if I had to fight tommorrow, I would go for the AK-47 over the M-16.

I've grown to dislike Discover channels weapons programs. They are about as fair and unbiased as Fox news.

In my "Twentieth Century small arms" book, and about everywhere else they say that the M16 got the nickname Mattel 16 (As in the toy corp). The M16 was disliked by the soldiers as it was very unreliable. Nowadays it's just outdated.

And yes the AK47 was built to be reliable and easy to manufacture, just any guerilla leader. The AK47 is an iconic weapon.

another good way is to print a shit pot fulla stickers...adhesions, with the logo, the bot, the website address, and send a batch to all the sifters who want to paste em up on paper machines, fast-food queues, etc......then they take a picture of the guerilla plasters, and put em up on the site......don't stick one on any fine art or fat-ladies asses though.....I'll do that.

so two lesbians are fighting over their child inbetween making out naked in a pool? I would watch that.

you got a script you could send along ?

what format did you shoot on ?

what are you editing on ?

are you editing or are you at a post facility ?

how much footage did you shoot ?

details ! send details !

glad to see other filmmakers on the sift!

In reply to this comment by blankfist:
Thanks, qruel. Yes, we're in post now. We haven't started editting yet, though. Um, the film is a drama. I'm terrible with pitches, but the best one I could come up with was Kramer v Kramer meets Wild Things, I suppose. Once we're done cutting it, we hope to get it out into festivals and all that. Right now, I'm just focusing on getting the film cut, and all that other marketing and festial stuff can wait for now.

-bf

In reply to this comment by qruel:
wow, very cool. a feature is a helluva lot of work.

are you in post now ? if so where at ?

tell me about the film (story and techinical info) and your hopes for it when done.



In reply to this comment by blankfist:
Haha, you are so right. I just shot a feature out here, and I swore never to shoot another one in LA. It's not friendly to indie filmmakers. I decided early on to go guerilla and shoot without permits, so we were constantly ducking cops. We only got kicked out of one area, which was by a Ranger up on a canyon trail overlooking the cityscape. So, we just packed everything up, made the hike down, and a week later we went back to get the rest of the shots.

Way too expensive out here to shoot. Next feature I do, I'm taking it back to North Carolina, which is where I'm from originally.

In reply to this comment by qruel:
Hey, thanks for the compliment. we shot the film here in the midwest (along with all the other films on that site).

i've got a few friends in La nd they talk about how expensive it is and all the permits they have to get before shooting and it makes me wonder how any indie projects get done there


In reply to this comment by blankfist:
Hey, that's really well done. I wasn't expecting the spiders at the end. And, I loved the nod to Audition with her wardrobe at the end. Where did you shoot that? Out here in LA, or are you somewhere else? Great job.

-bf

In reply to this comment by qruel:
I was posting to Farhad when i saw your comment about AUDTION. It was DEFINATELY creepy as hell. so here is a short movie I thought you might dig called THE EVIL INSIDE (forgive me if I already sent this to you). I edited this film and the director was a HUGE audition fan (you'll tell from the short) This is the 10 minute version (down from 30 minutes)

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=4333376

edit: oh yea, thanks for the props on the gold !

QRUEL

In reply to this comment by blankfist:
Farhad2000, I know you're a bit of the cinephile, and I've seen the video you posted of Audition in Bravo's 100 Most Scariest Movies. You may find this video I posted recently interesting: http://www.videosift.com/video/Clip-form-one-of-the-creepiest-horror-movies-ever-AUDITION

while i think the sift would tear it up, sure why not ? it might be fun to see the response it gets.

but i think any of these would do much better

fight club (creative spoiler)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=J2EMFU3fAiY

HINDSIGHT
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=4333855

THINK ABOUT YOU
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=4332946

PANDORA'S BOX
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=4312519

In reply to this comment by blankfist:
By the way, would you mind if I posted your short film when I get a free spot in my queue? I'm sure the other sifters would enjoy seeing your work outside of the sift.

Also, have you seen the video Zifnab posted here: http://www.videosift.com/video/A-Scorsese-Directed-Short-Scripted-by-Hitchcock

I thought you may like it.

-bf

In reply to this comment by qruel:
wow, very cool. a feature is a helluva lot of work.

are you in post now ? if so where at ?

tell me about the film (story and techinical info) and your hopes for it when done.



In reply to this comment by blankfist:
Haha, you are so right. I just shot a feature out here, and I swore never to shoot another one in LA. It's not friendly to indie filmmakers. I decided early on to go guerilla and shoot without permits, so we were constantly ducking cops. We only got kicked out of one area, which was by a Ranger up on a canyon trail overlooking the cityscape. So, we just packed everything up, made the hike down, and a week later we went back to get the rest of the shots.

Way too expensive out here to shoot. Next feature I do, I'm taking it back to North Carolina, which is where I'm from originally.

In reply to this comment by qruel:
Hey, thanks for the compliment. we shot the film here in the midwest (along with all the other films on that site).

i've got a few friends in La nd they talk about how expensive it is and all the permits they have to get before shooting and it makes me wonder how any indie projects get done there


In reply to this comment by blankfist:
Hey, that's really well done. I wasn't expecting the spiders at the end. And, I loved the nod to Audition with her wardrobe at the end. Where did you shoot that? Out here in LA, or are you somewhere else? Great job.

-bf

In reply to this comment by qruel:
I was posting to Farhad when i saw your comment about AUDTION. It was DEFINATELY creepy as hell. so here is a short movie I thought you might dig called THE EVIL INSIDE (forgive me if I already sent this to you). I edited this film and the director was a HUGE audition fan (you'll tell from the short) This is the 10 minute version (down from 30 minutes)

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=4333376

edit: oh yea, thanks for the props on the gold !

QRUEL

In reply to this comment by blankfist:
Farhad2000, I know you're a bit of the cinephile, and I've seen the video you posted of Audition in Bravo's 100 Most Scariest Movies. You may find this video I posted recently interesting: http://www.videosift.com/video/Clip-form-one-of-the-creepiest-horror-movies-ever-AUDITION

wow, very cool. a feature is a helluva lot of work.

are you in post now ? if so where at ?

tell me about the film (story and techinical info) and your hopes for it when done.



In reply to this comment by blankfist:
Haha, you are so right. I just shot a feature out here, and I swore never to shoot another one in LA. It's not friendly to indie filmmakers. I decided early on to go guerilla and shoot without permits, so we were constantly ducking cops. We only got kicked out of one area, which was by a Ranger up on a canyon trail overlooking the cityscape. So, we just packed everything up, made the hike down, and a week later we went back to get the rest of the shots.

Way too expensive out here to shoot. Next feature I do, I'm taking it back to North Carolina, which is where I'm from originally.

In reply to this comment by qruel:
Hey, thanks for the compliment. we shot the film here in the midwest (along with all the other films on that site).

i've got a few friends in La nd they talk about how expensive it is and all the permits they have to get before shooting and it makes me wonder how any indie projects get done there


In reply to this comment by blankfist:
Hey, that's really well done. I wasn't expecting the spiders at the end. And, I loved the nod to Audition with her wardrobe at the end. Where did you shoot that? Out here in LA, or are you somewhere else? Great job.

-bf

In reply to this comment by qruel:
I was posting to Farhad when i saw your comment about AUDTION. It was DEFINATELY creepy as hell. so here is a short movie I thought you might dig called THE EVIL INSIDE (forgive me if I already sent this to you). I edited this film and the director was a HUGE audition fan (you'll tell from the short) This is the 10 minute version (down from 30 minutes)

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=4333376

edit: oh yea, thanks for the props on the gold !

QRUEL

In reply to this comment by blankfist:
Farhad2000, I know you're a bit of the cinephile, and I've seen the video you posted of Audition in Bravo's 100 Most Scariest Movies. You may find this video I posted recently interesting: http://www.videosift.com/video/Clip-form-one-of-the-creepiest-horror-movies-ever-AUDITION

ooh... 5 votes and counting... maybe we can do it this time...

and remember kids, the USA was founded on guerilla warfare and genocide! you gotta laugh.

yes, because technology has helped so much in the past against guerilla warfare.

*cooking

Guerilla haute cuisine is where it's AT!